Spinner brake for beverage mixers



y 1, 1951 J. KANTOR 2,551,011

SPINNER BRAKE FOR BEVERAGE MIXERS Filed Jan. 5, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1NIH IHIIHHH 4 m!" IllllllIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllilllI|Illll|ll1lHI mm un INVENTOR. /q )7: cs Kan 0 May 1, 1951 J. KANTOR 5 L SPINNERBRAKE FOR BEVERAGE MIXERS Filed Jan. 5, 1948 ZSheets-Sheet 2 IN V ENTOR.

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[fog/V45) Patented May 1, 1951 SPINNER BRAKE FOR BEVERAGE MIXERS JamesKantor, Chicago, 111., assignor to Liquid Carbonic Corporation, acorporation :of Dela- Wall'e Application January 5, 1948,.SerialiNo. 537

4 Claims.

Heretofore in the art, there have been developed" various types ofapparatus for mixing soft drink beverages and particularly carbonatedsoft drink beverages, while in their individual containers in which theyare sold, and such apparatus gen-.

erally comprise what is acceptably known as bottle holders which areadapted to receive and grip the individual container. These bottleholders are generally so mounted that they move in a circular path andat the same time, are adapted to swing from an upright to an invertedposition, the bottle holder being provided with means for rapidlyrotating the holder and the bottle held thereby on the vertical axis ofthe bottle, so that the contents of the bottle will be caused to spinwith the bottle.

In such machines, the bottles or containers, and hereinafter thecontainers will be referred to as bottles for the purpose of clarity,are fed into the machine from a traveling conveyor by means of an infeedmechanism and after the contents of the bottle has been suitablyagitated, the bottle in its upright position is picked off the holderand again delivered to the traveling conveyor through the medium of anoutfeed mechanism.

During the agitation operation, the bottle and its contents are rapidlyrotated on the longitudinal axis of the bottle so that as the bottleapproaches the outfeed mechanism, it continues to spin. As a result, asthe bottle is engaged by the outfeed mechanism, it is rapidly rotatingon its longitudinal axis and as a result scoring and scratching of thebottle, as it comes in contact during its spinning movement with theoutfeed mechanism, is occasioned.

Furthermore, it is extremely. desirable to suddenly stop the spinning ofthe bottle so that while the bottle has come to rest, the contents willcontinue to spin under its own momentum, which spinning movement of thecontents effects a wiping action between the inner walls of the bottleand the contents, so that any heavy syrup which may be clinging tothe-walls of the bottle is wiped or washed off.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improvedform of braking mechanism for stopping the rotation of the bottle on itslongitudinal axis, before it is picked up by the outfeed mechanismsothat asthe-bot tleis picked up by the outfeed-mechanism, its

2 axial movement has stopped and the rubbing action of the bottleagainst the outfeed mechanism will be prevented.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means forsecurely clamping the bottle in the bottle clamp in such a manner thatthe bottle will freely rotate on its axis, which is in the clamp and atthe same time avoid damaging or marring the bottle crown or cap.

For the purpose of disclosing the present invention, an embodimentthereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the rotating head supporting the bottleholders and of the spinning mechanism for the bottle;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, primarily illustrating the infeed and outfeeddials and associated braking apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a detail elevation, showing the brak-- ing mechanism insectional view and its associa-- tion with the outfeed dial; and

Fig. 4 is a-detail plan view of the braking star Fig. 5 is a detailelevation of the fire brake and wiper; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the top clamping member for the bottle.

In general, the spinning and inverting mechanism is substantiallythesame as is illustrated in the patent granted to me on July 21, 1942,No; 2,290,562, and reference may be had to said patent for the detailsof construction of said spinning and inverting mechanism, notspecifically illustrated and described in the present application.

In general, the spinning and inverting mechanism comprises a rotatingturret or platform I on which are mounted a series of bottle holders 2.Each of the bottle holders comprises a rotating cylindrical support 3,which is mounted on a suitable shaft 4 journalled in a bracket 5. Thisshaft, at its lower end, is provided with a driving wheel 6. roller 1extending from one side thereof, the purpose of which will be more fullyhereinafter described. This bracket is pivotally mounted on a pivotalsupport 8 carried on the turret I and for maintaining the bottle inposition uponthebase 3, I provide a clamp 9 which is adapted to engagethe top of the bottle and is supported on a vertically movable rod 10supported in a sleeve II. This rod is biased in a clamping position by asuitable spring (not shown) and the lower end of the rod carries aroller I2 adapted, during a predetermined portion of the path ofmovement, to engage a cam l3-stationarily mounted Withre- The bracket isalso provided with a 'spect to the path of movement of the bottleholder.

For maintaining the bottle holder in its upright position, in whichposition the bottle holder is adapted to receive and discharge thebottle, I provide a cam M on which the roller 1 is adapted to rideduring a portion of the movement of the bottle holder through itsrotating path. After the bottle holder has received the bottle and movedpast the infeed position, this cam is so disposed that the bottle holderwill swing on its pivot to an inverted position, as illustrated. Whenthe bottle holder swings to its inverted position, the driving wheel 6engages a rapidly rotating driving disk |5 located beneath the head orturret and as a result of this engagement between the disk i5 and thewheel 6, the bottle holder and its supported bottle are rotated, on thelongitudinal axis of the bottle, at a relatively high rate of speed.

As the bottle holder moves to the outfeed position, the cam I4 againpicks up the roller I causing the bottle holder to move back to anuprightposition' and at the same time, as the bottle holder moves to itsoutfeed or discharge position, the cam l3 again engages the roller |2,raising the clamp 9 to permit the bottle to be removed from the support3.

It is to be noted that, as a result of the high speed spinning movementimparted to the bottle and bottle holder, while in its invertedposition, the bottle and its holder will, under their own momentum,continue to spin as the bottle holder and bottle move into an uprightposition to the outfeed mechanism.

A suitable worktable I6 is disposed adjacent to the mixing structureheretofore described, and arranged tangentially to the line of movementof the bottle holders. A straight line endless conveyor moves across theworktable, this conveyor bringing the bottles or other containers to themachine from a suitable filling machine. A continuously rotating infeeddial I8 is mounted upon the worktable to remove the bottles from theconveyor I1 and position them upon the bottle support or base 3 of thebottle holders 2. An outfeed dial I9 is also provided upon the worktableto remove the successive bottles from the bottle holders and positionthem upon the opposite end of the conveyor IT for removal from themachine. A guide plate 20 cooperates with the dials |8 and IE to directthe movement of the bottles during their infeed and outfeed.

Due to the fact that the bottle holders and the bottles are stillspinning at a relatively high rate at the time they approach the outfeeddial and as a result of this spinning action, when the bottles areengaged by the outfeed dial IQ for removing the same from the bottleholders and delivering them to the conveyor i1, considerable scoring ofthe bottles takes place and in order to avoid this, I provide a starwheel brake 2| which is adapted to engage the bottle support 3immediately in advance of its movement to place the bottle in the pathof the outfeed dial l9.

For supporting this star wheel 2| and maintaining the same in properengaging position, a spindle 22 is mounted on the base 23 of the supportfor the table it. The bracket comprising an upwardly extending arm 26,is pivotally supported on the spindle 22. The outer or free end of thisbracket is provided with a vertically extending spindle 25, whichreceives a hub 23 for the brake wheel 2| Preferably, this brake wheel 2|is formed of a plastic and cork composition,

4 the plastic being slightly resilient and I have found that extremelyadvantageous results have been obtained by forming the brake wheel 2| ofa plastic such as neoprene combined with cork. Such a compositionprovides an extremely satisfactory braking surface having long wearingqualities and operating satisfactorily, even though oil or moisturecollects on the surface thereof. This brake wheel is mounted on a hub 26and is clamped in position between a stationary flange 21 on the hub anda removable flange 28, suitable clamping screws being adapted to extendthrough the star wheel. The free end of the arm is resiliently biased ina braking direction through the medium of a coiled spring 29, whichspring surrounds a limit rod, 30. One end of this rod is pivotallyconnected at 3| to the bracket arm 24 and the other end extends througha lug 32 extending upwardly from a bracket extension 33 on the base 23.The free end of the rod 30 is provided with an adjustable nut 34, whichprovides an adjustable limit stop to prevent the brake wheel fromswinging too far towards the path of the bottle holders. This brakewheel 2| is arranged in the same horizontal plane as the bottlesupporting base 3 of the holder, so that as the bottle holder moves todeliver the bottle to the outfeed dial l9, the periphery of the brakewheel will engage the periphery of the bottle supporting base 3 andbrake the spinning action of the bottle holder and with it, the spinningof the bottle, immediately prior to the release of the bottle clamp 9.Therefore, by the time the bottle is engaged by the outfeed dial l9, itsaxial spinning movement has been stopped, although the momentum of thecontents of the bottle will continue to spin. It is to be noted that thebraking star wheel 2| is arranged tangentially to the path of movementof the bottle holder and in advance of the outfeed dial N3 of theapparatus and While the star wheel rotates on the spindle 25 andtherefore moves with the bottle and bottle holder, as it advancestowards the outfeed dial, the periphery of the star wheel is stationaryrelative to the axial rotative movement of the bottle and bottle holder.

While the braking wheel 2| provides a satisfactory brake under normalconditions, and while the material neoprene will operate in asatisfactory manner even though oil happens to accumulate on itssurface, there are circumstances where the bottle is set to spinning sorapidly, sometimes as high as 2,000 R. P. M., that excessive pressure ofthe brake wheel is necessary to stop the spinning bottle, and there areoccasions where on the base 3 a certain amount of soap or like matterwill collect which also renders it necessary, for the wheel 2| to exertexcessive pressure on the bottle support to properly brake the same.Therefore in order to render the brake wheel efficient undercomparatively light pressures, we provide a prebrake wipe 35. This wipecompresses a flexible finger preferably formed of rubber or even of thesame material as the brake 2|. The finger is comparatively wide toengage the surface of the support 3 and is sufliciently thin in crosssection to allow it to bend. The prebrake wipe is clamped, at its rearend, between a pair of clamping blocks 36 supported upon a stem 3'! inturn adjustably secured in an ear 38 by a set screw 39. The ear 38extends from a bracket 40 secured to a suitable part of the machineframe in such position as to project the prebrake wipe in the path of aspinning support 3 immediately prior to its engagement by the brakewheel 2|. As a result, as the spinning support moves in its orbit andapproaches the brake 2| it first contacts the prebrake wiper 35 spinningagainst the face of the wipe. The support 3 rotating in the direction ofthe arrow engages the front edge of the wiper which scrapes off anysoapy material on the surface of the support and at the same timesomewhat slows down the spinning of the bottle. This permits the brakewheel to bring the bottle to a full spinning stop with a minimum ofpressure on the side of the support.

In order to offer a resistance to the axial rotation of the bottle whileit is being spun in its clamp and at the same time avoid marring ordamaging the bottle cap while the bottle is in its clamped position theclamping head 9 is so constructed that the bottle clamping member issupported in friction reducing bearings and the clamping member isformed of rubber or like material. To this end the bracket arm 4| isprovided with a ring like neck 42 in which is mounted a ball bearing 43,the inner race of which surrounds and rotates with a spindle 44. Thisspindle is headed to overhang the inner race and has seated in its top afriction reducing ball 45. This ball bears upon a screw 46 in a head 41threaded into the neck ring 42 and provided with a cover 48, theclamping member 49 has a cone shaped recess in its bottom face toreceive the top of the bottle and is preferably formed of Bakelite orsome similar plastic. A neck 50 on the clamping member is provided witha recess which receives the end of the spindle and the clamping memberis secured to the spindle by a clamping screw 5|. A guide rib 52projects from the upper face of the clamping member and operates in agroove in the bottom face of the neck ring 42. In order that the bottlecaps may not be marred or distorted and in order to provide a firmfriction grip on the top of the bottle a rubber insert 53 is secured inthe clamping member in position to engage the top of the bottle.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a mixing apparatus, in combination, a

container supporting element movable in a fixed path of travel andincluding a rotatable container gripping means, means for rotating saidgripping means on the vertical axis of the container including a drivenwheel drivingly associated with said gripping means and moving with saidgripping means in its fixed path of travel, a braking member moveablewith said driven wheel while the same moves in its path of travel andhaving a friction surface stationary relatively to the rotating movementof said driven wheel and mov able with said driven wheel while bringingsaid driven wheel to a stop on its rotating axis, and braking surfacecontinuing to move with the driven wheel in its path of travel after thedriven wheel has been brought to a stop and a pre-brake wiperstationarily positioned in the path of travel of said driven wheel inadvance of said brake member and frictionly engaging said driven wheelprior to its engagement by said brake member.

2. In a mixing apparatus, in combination, a

' container supporting element movable in a fixed path of travel andincluding a rotatable container gripping means, means for rotating saidgripping means on the vertical axis of the container including a drivenwheel drivingly associated with said gripping means and moving with saidgripping means in its fixed path of travel, a braking member movablewith said driven wheel while the same moves in its path of travel andhaving a friction surface stationary relatively to the rotating movementof said driven wheel and movable with said driven wheel while bringingsaid driven wheel to a stop on its rotating axis, said braking surfacecontinuing to move with the driven wheel in its path of travel after thedriven wheel has been brought to a stop and a pre-brake wiperstationarily mounted with respect to the path of travel of said grippingmeans in advance of said braking means comprising a flexible bladeprojecting into the path of travel of said gripping means and adapted toengage said driven wheel as it moves in its path of travel.

3. In a mixing apparatus, in combination, a container supporting elementmovable in a fixed path of travel and including a rotatable containergripping means, means for rotating said gripping means on the verticalaxis of the container including a driven wheel drivingly associated withsaid gripping means and moving with said gripping means in its fixedpath of travel, a braking member movable with said driven wheel whilethe same moves in its path of travel and having a friction surfacestationary relatively to the rotating movement of said driven wheel andmovable with said driven wheel while bringing said driven Wheel to astop on its rotating axis, said braking surface continuing to move withthe driven wheel in its path of travel after the driven wheel has beenbrought to a stop and a flexible blade having an edge parallel to theaxis of rotation of said gripping means and presented in a directionopposed to the direction of rotation of said gripping means and engagingsaid driven wheel as the same moves in its path of travel.

4. In a mixing apparatus, in combination, a container supporting elementmovable in a fixed path of travel and including a rotatable containergripping means, means for rotating said gripping means on the verticalaxis of the container including a driven wheel drivingly associated withsaid gripping means and moving with said gripping means in its fixedpath of travel, a braking member moveable with said driven wheel whilethe same moves in its path of travel and having a friction surfacestationary relatively to the rotating movement of said driven wheel andmovable with said driven wheel while bringing said driven wheel to astop on its rotating axis, said braking surface continuing to move withthe driven wheel in its path of travel after the driven wheel has beenbrought to a stop, a support stationarily mounted adjacentto the path oftravel of said driven wheel, a horizontally disposed supporting memberhorizontally adjustably mounted on said support, a clamp mounted on theend of said adjustable member and a flexible friction blade carried bysaid clamp and positioned in the path of travel of said driven wheel andin advance of said braking member.

JAMES KANTOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 621,635 Davis Mar. 21, 1899761,460 Ebken May 31, 1904 1,386,120 Kuenneth Aug. 2, 1 921 1,725,483Shepperd Aug. 20, 1929 2,086,273 Kantor et al July 6, 1937 2,275,823Kantor Mar. 10, 1942 2,290,562 Kantor July 21, 1942

